...an award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics-from today and yesterday:all 32 Counties !Updated a number of times each week . (Mirror site here)

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"1169 And Counting is a wealth of information on our Republican past and present , and demonstrates how the Irish political landscape , like that of any nation, will never be a black and white issue..."

IRISH BLOG AWARDS 2017 - ooops! It seems that our entry application was "not completed in time to be considered.." (?) and, as such, we are not now in the running. But we wish all the best to the successful entrants and to the organisers, and we hope all goes well for them on the day!

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Annual Eve-Of-All-Ireland Rally -DATE - Saturday 16th September 2006 . Assemble at the Garden Of Remembrance at 2pm , for parade to the GPO .Also , on this same Saturday (16th) , Republicans will be holding a 12-hour fast at the GPO in support of Irish Republican political prisoners , from 9AM to 9PM .

Friday, September 15, 2006

THE WALLACE AND HOLROYD FILE .......These files are now coming under the scrutiny of the 'authorities' . Heads will role . But whose ?From 'New Hibernia' magazine , April 1987 .

Chief Supt. Hubert Reynolds of the Murder Squad at Garda HQ wants to know why 'Commandant P' was never interviewed by the gardai about his involvement in the Wallace/Holroyd File . Reynolds heads a team which has been told to get to the bottom of the affair - and quick .

He has taken statements from 'Commandant P' and other (State) Army Officers , serving and retired , who might throw light on the subject . But that is only one of the curious things which have been thrown up by the persistent claim made by Fred Holroyd and Colin Wallace on TV , radio and in the press in Britain and Ireland . Their allegations divide neatly into two , but are complementary .

Fred Holroyd was a Captain in the 'Special Military Intelligence Unit' in the North of Ireland and served as a Military Intelligence Officer in the RUC's 'Juliet' Division of Mid Ulster (sic) between 1974 and 1976 . As a bearded undercover man , often operating in disguise , he was well placed to discover what was going on in the RUC Special Branch , local military intelligence , the SAS (who had a troop based at Castledillon near his patch) and MI6 for who he worked secretly as their eyes and ears in that part of the British Army command structure....... (MORE LATER).

THE HEAVY HAND OF THE LAW .......Allegations of Garda brutality only hit the headlines intermittently . But the problem may be much more widespread than most people imagine . Last year out-of-court settlements of cases involving members of the Garda cost the taxpayer over €1 million . What's going on ? From 'MAGILL' magazine , April 2003 .By Mairead Carey.

Grainne Walsh (35) readily admits that she and her sister , Ciara , were the perfect plaintiffs :

" For us , taking the case was a huge risk . The District Court case cost us thousands of pounds , and we faced the possibility of losing tens of thousands in the High Court . But we knew we were innocent and we were in a position to fight it . If you don't have the finances , or the witnesses , or if you have a record or a drug problem , you have to drop it . "

Peter Mullen's clients are more likely to fit into the latter category - " I receive complaints on a regular basis from clients who say they have been assaulted by the gardai ," says the Dublin solicitor . He rarely advises anyone to go to the Garda Complaints Board : " I don't have a huge amount of confidence in the Garda complaints procedure , nor do my clients . " Normally , Peter Mullen would'nt advise clients to take a civil case , either , but he had good reasons for advising the Walsh sisters to do so on this occasion.......(MORE LATER).

Vincent Browne owes the Revenue Commissioners £110,000 to last July , with probably the same amount piling up since then , Tony Ryan is still owed another £500,000 and journalists may take cold comfort from the fact that their own paltry debt of £15,000 in owed wages is by far the smallest of Browne's debts . These figures may explain why some of Browne's closest allies are thinking of ratting .

Vincent Browne is presently looking for a consortium of investors to put in £100,000 each , but whether or not the larger-than-life journalist manages to hang in there and become the country's most flamboyant publisher remains to be seen . If he does fail to get an investor , or investors , it will not be for the want of trying .

At one stage in the last ten months , Browne approached people close to Fianna Fail leader Charles Haughey , looking for funds . Possessed of an astute political brain and a manic energy , Vincent Browne himself will survive even if 'The Sunday Tribune' does not ! [END of 'VINCENT BROWNE : PILLARS OF SOCIETY'](Next - ' THE STRANGE STATE KILLING OF MAURICE O' NEILL' - from 1999.)

Annual Eve-Of-All-Ireland Rally -DATE - Saturday 16th September 2006 . Assemble at the Garden Of Remembrance at 2pm , for parade to the GPO .Also , on this same Saturday (16th) , Republicans will be holding a 12-hour fast at the GPO in support of Irish Republican political prisoners , from 9AM to 9PM .

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Annual Eve-Of-All-Ireland Rally -DATE - Saturday 16th September 2006 . Assemble at the Garden Of Remembrance at 2pm , for parade to the GPO .Also , on this same Saturday (16th) , Republicans will be holding a 12-hour fast at the GPO in support of Irish Republican political prisoners , from 9AM to 9PM .

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

THE WALLACE AND HOLROYD FILE .......These files are now coming under the scrutiny of the 'authorities' . Heads will role . But whose ?From 'New Hibernia' magazine , April 1987 .

'British Army ' Captain Peter Maynard , later 'Major' , told 'Commandant P' he had no fears for his safety in Ireland , showing him a long-barrelled Walther pistol in a shoulder holster . Then , as 'Commandant P's wife served tea and sandwiches , the two visitors got down to brass tacks . Peter Maynard asked the Irish (Free State) Army Officer to supply him with intelligence about IRA arms-running routes : 'Commandant P' asked the Badger if his Garda superior knew of the approach . He said he did .

The (Free State) Officer then told his visitors that in that case there would be no harm done if he kept himself on the right side of things and told his superiors : the two visitors left quickly and there was no further contact about the proposal , although 'Commandant P' continued to bump into the Badger during the course of his duties . Later that afternoon , 'Commandant P' telephoned a senior officer and told him of the incident - he was ordered to report it in writing when he returned to camp on Tuesday , the first day after the Bank Holiday. He did so .

In the normal course of events , the report should have reached Lt Col Paddy Cusack , then Command Intelligence Officer , Eastern Command (of the State Army) , from where it would have been directed to G2 Intelligence at GHQ in Parkgate , Dublin . Where that report has gone , and why it was not acted on , is one of the central mysteries of the Riddle of the Wallace/Holroyd File . Last week , 'Commandant P' came forward to tell his story again , after seeing Capts. Holroyd and Wallace on UTV : now retired and running an engineering business in Dublin he is still puzzled about why he was never interviewed by gardai about the incident . He is not the only one.......(MORE LATER).

THE HEAVY HAND OF THE LAW .......Allegations of Garda brutality only hit the headlines intermittently . But the problem may be much more widespread than most people imagine . Last year out-of-court settlements of cases involving members of the Garda cost the taxpayer over €1 million . What's going on ? From 'MAGILL' magazine , April 2003 .By Mairead Carey.

" I got an inadequate report , late , " Michael McDowell told 'MAGILL' magazine , " it did'nt explain the circumstances in which gardai instituted District Court proceedings without seeking the authority of their superiors . I did'nt receive any adequate explaination as to why that happened , so I asked for a second report . " He still has not received it , but says he will wait for as long as it takes .

Shortly after the incident , Grainne Walsh was contacted by a garda who said he was investigating the complaint - " It was 10 o'clock on a Friday night . He asked me to confirm my name and address and phone number , and said he would ring again . But that was the last I heard of him . " The gardai involved are still on the beat , according to Grainne Walsh - " I have seen them around Grafton Street and my heart stops , but they don't recognise me at all . I don't believe the gardai have any intention of doing anything about it . If they had , the same guards would not be in the same job , five years later . I'm sure they are just laughing....... "(MORE LATER).

The avuncular political correspondent of 'The Sunday Tribune' , Gerry Barry , was a student union radical in the 1960's , and Paul Tansey would have had mutual friends with ex-Workers Party leader , Mairin de Burca , in the past . All in all , a volatile lot . And while Vincent Browne could bully the tiny handful of journalists working for 'MAGILL' magazine , causing cringing editor Colm Toibin weekly nervous breakdowns , he finds the stronger 'Sunday Tribune' union chapel a constant irritation .

NUJ negotiators are now seriously worried that the latest outbreak of hostilities with Vincent Browne are motivated by his realisation that the newspaper cannot get a new backer . They fear he has provoked a row in order to scapegoat the NUJ for a liquidation that is inevitable anyway . An alternative scenario is that Browne has got a backer , or backers , but that his wage projections are way below those currently under negotiation with the NUJ .

Browne's immediate cash-flow problems are daunting . Extra advertising revenue from the Christmas period will keep the newspaper going for another fortnight or so , a deadline which will coincide with the ending of Gordon Colleary's funding commitment of £100,000 over six months ....... (MORE LATER).

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Annual Eve-Of-All-Ireland Rally -DATE - Saturday 16th September 2006 . Assemble at the Garden Of Remembrance at 2pm , for parade to the GPO .Also , on this same Saturday (16th) , Republicans will be holding a 12-hour fast at the GPO in support of Irish Republican political prisoners .

Monday, September 11, 2006

THE WALLACE AND HOLROYD FILE .......These files are now coming under the scrutiny of the 'authorities' . Heads will role . But whose ?From 'New Hibernia' magazine , April 1987 .

It was a man in the engineering business in Dublin who brought about the examination of the 'Riddle of the Wallace/Holroyd File' : more than 12 years ago he had been an Explosives Ordnance Officer in command of an Irish (Free State) Army bomb disposal team around what the British call 'the Monaghan salient' - that bit of the 26-County State which juts into what they call ' Northern Ireland'(sic).

When he was'nt defusing Provisional IRA bombs , 'Commandant P' liked to have a drink in a local hotel . One of his social contacts was a man who was to become 'famous' as the 'Badger' - the MI6 agent identified by British Captain Fred Holroyd as a Garda detective .

On August Bank Holiday , Saturday , 1975 , the Badger paid an unexpected call on 'Commandant P's home in Castleknock , Dublin , : with him he had a tall Englishman , a " 'Peter Maynard' of the British Army " - Maynard was , in fact , Captain Maynard , of the RAOC , whom Fred Holroyd has identified as working for the MI6 chief in Lisburn , Craig Smellie.......(MORE LATER).

THE HEAVY HAND OF THE LAW .......Allegations of Garda brutality only hit the headlines intermittently . But the problem may be much more widespread than most people imagine . Last year out-of-court settlements of cases involving members of the Garda cost the taxpayer over €1 million . What's going on ? From 'MAGILL' magazine , April 2003 .By Mairead Carey.

Six months later , after the Walsh sisters had lodged proceedings against the gardai , summonses were served : the girls were accused of assaulting two garda officers !

One of the assaults was said to have taken place on Nassau Street in Dublin , even though they were arrested and taken into custody on Grafton Street : they were also said to be so drunk as to be a danger to themselves and others and , in court , one of the Gardai said that Grainne Walsh was so intoxicated she could not speak or sign her name , even though a copy of her signature was later produced !

The Walsh sisters had been warned by their solicitor to expect a summons , " But it was still alarming , " said Grainne . Nine gardai , including two sergeants , turned up at the District Court to give evidence against them - " Every one told a different story when they took the stand . " In court , one of the two gardai who had arrested the sisters was asked by the judge if the incident had been investigated internally , and he replied that it had . When pressed , he told the court that he had investigated it himself ! The judge threw out the case , describing it as a "...disgraceful.. " day in the history of the police force , and stated that he would have awarded costs if he could , but public policy did not allow it , he said . In the (State) High Court last summer , counsel for the Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne said the force "...regret very much what had happened.."and acknowledged that both women were of "...unblemished character.. " , and told the court that damages had been paid . However , trouble was to follow over the garda report into the incident....... (MORE LATER).

One of the first casualties of Vincent Browne's leadership-style was news editor Don Buckley , who found his editor's swashbuckling behaviour impossible to work under . Buckley left only a few weeks after the relaunch of 'The Sunday Tribune' , and was followed by Eugene McGloin whose contract was not renewed . Joe Carroll , the Diplomatic Correspondent , went to RTE's 'Today Tonight' programme , as did Emily O' Reilly who had previously enjoyed a close working relationship with Vincent Browne .

'The Sunday Tribune's celebrated rows are not entirely due to its editor's abrasive manner : most of the journalists are young to middle-aged , with CV's that might have made Special Branch files at some point in the last two decades.......(MORE LATER).